Scottish Screen funded cinema goes global

At the end of August this year the Scottish Executive launched the Scottish Refugee Action Plan with a screening of 'Favourite Things' from the Glasgow Film Theatre's Going Global education pack.
Margaret Curran, Minister of Communities, who launched the report, thought that the film was "absolutely wonderful."
Going Global is a new resource for schools produced by Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow Film Theatre, one of Scottish Screen's supported cinemas.
The pack consists of three short animated films made by groups of young asylum seekers, refugees and local young people in three Glasgow schools with the support of D Fie Foe, a professional animation company.
The young people were responsible for all aspects of the filmmaking process. They developed the original ideas, produced all the artwork, used a range of animation techniques, wrote the scripts, did the acting and dancing, wrote and performed the music and were fully involved in all the creative decisions. The result is three films which are all professional, entertaining and at times moving, and are a credit to their efforts.
'Culture United', made by young people from All Saints Secondary School, looks at how sport, music and other activities, can foster mutual understanding between different cultures.
'A Mercurial Welcome' is by pupils from Castlemilk High School. This film is set in outer space. A number of planets are devastated by war, famine and disaster and people need to apply to live on the planet Mercury. This film shows applicants being questioned by Mercury's admissions panel which decides if they are allowed to enter. The reasons for their decisions are interesting and contemporary as they show that, once you get to the planet, your problems are not necessarily over.
'Favourite Things', made by Primary 6 pupils at St Paul's (Whiteinch) Primary, shows a group of pupils talking about their favourite things, such as Irish dancing, the beach in Somalia and sunflowers in Afghanistan.
Accompanying the films is a documentary which records the filmmaking process, a set of teachers' notes and worksheets for pupils. There are a number of activities suitable for all ages and stages, all of them are designed to engender discussion of issues relating to refugees and asylum seekers and more generally to race equality. While aimed at meeting the demands of the Scottish curriculum, they can easily be adapted to suit the English National Curriculum.
(GB)